"The Battle of the Frogs and Mice."

This celebrated parody has been attributed to Homer, but it is said to bear traces of a much later age. The question of the date has been examined by Col. Mure ("Crit. Hist. Gr. Lit.," Vol. II., p. 360). He regards the poem itself as "conceived in a happy spirit of mixed Homeric and Aristophanic satire against the absurdities of the popular religion."

It is remarkable chiefly as the earliest satire on the great Greek epics, and as showing that a sharp line of distinction must be drawn between the mythology of the Greeks and their religion.

The general opinion of the best writers of the present day is that the Greeks held fast their faith in one Supreme God, Ruler of all things, in spite of their polytheistic and anthropomorphic tendencies.

A parody is an adaptation of the form of some celebrated poem with such changes as will produce a totally different effect. It generally substitutes the ridiculous for the elevated, poetical sentiment. "The Battle of the Frogs and Mice" is of this character.

The following prose version is taken from "Stories of Ancient Greece," published by A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago:--

"A thirsty mouse, who had just escaped from a weasel, was drinking from a pool of water, when a croaking frog saw him, and said, 'Stranger, whence hast thou come to our shore, and who is thy father? Tell me the truth, and deceive me not, for if thou deservest it, I will lead thee to my house and give thee rich and beautiful gifts. My name is Puffcheek, and I rule over the frogs who dwell in this lake, and I see that thou too art an excellent prince and a brave warrior. So make haste, and tell me to what race thou dost belong.' Then the mouse answered him and said, 'Friend, why dost thou ask me of my race? It is known to all the gods, and to men, and to all the birds of heaven. My name is Crumbfilcher, and I am the son of the great-hearted Bread-gnawer, and my mother is Lickmill, the daughter of King Hamnibbler. I was born in a hovel, and fed on figs and nuts and on all manner of good things. But how can we be friends? We are not at all like each other. You frogs live in the water; we feed on whatever is eaten by man. No dainty escapes my eye, whether it be bread, or cake, or ham, or new-made cheese, or rich dishes prepared for feasts. As to war, I have never dreaded its din, but, going straight into it, have taken my place among the foremost warriors. Nor do I fear men, although they have large bodies; for at night I can bite a finger or nibble a heel without waking the sleeper from his pleasant slumber. But there are two things which I dread greatly,--a mouse-trap and a hawk; but worse than these are the weasels, for they can catch us in our holes. What then am I to do? for I cannot eat the cabbages, radishes, and pumpkins, which furnish food to the race of frogs.' Then Puffcheek answered with a smile, 'My friend, thou art dainty enough, but we have fine things to show on the dry land and in the marsh, for the son of Kronos has given us the power to dwell on land or in the water as it may please us. If thou wouldest see these things, it is soon done. Get on my back and hold on well, so that thou mayest reach my house with a cheerful heart.' So he turned his back to the mouse, who sprang lightly on it and put his arms round his soft neck. Much pleased he was at first to swim on the back of Puffcheek, while the haven was near; but when he got out into mid-water, he began to weep and to curse his useless sorrow. He tore his hair, and drew his feet tightly round the frog's stomach. His heart beat wildly, and he wished himself well on the shore, as he uttered a pitiful cry and spread out his tail on the water, moving it about like an oar. Then in the bitterness of his grief he said, 'Surely it was not thus the bull carried the beautiful Europa on his back over the sea to Crete; surely--' but before he could say more, a snake, of which frogs and mice alike are afraid, lifted up his head straight above the water. Down dived Puffcheek, when he saw the snake, never thinking that he had left the mouse to die. The frog was safe at the bottom of the marsh, but the mouse fell on his back and screamed terribly. Many times he sank and many times he came up again, kicking hard; but there was no hope. The hair on his skin was soaked with wet and weighed him down, and with his last breath he cried, 'Puffcheek, thou shalt not escape for thy treachery. On the land I could have beaten thee in boxing, wrestling or running; but thou hast beguiled me into the water, where I can do nothing. The eye of justice sees thee, and thou shalt pay a fearful penalty to the great army of mice.'

"So Crumbfilcher died; but Lickplatter saw him as he sat on the soft bank, and, uttering a sharp cry, went to tell the mice. Then was there great wrath among them, and messengers were sent to bid all come in the morning to the house of Breadgnawer, the father of the luckless Crumbfilcher, whose body could not even be buried, because it was floating in the middle of the pond. So they came at dawn, and then Breadgnawer, rising in grief and rage, said, 'Friends, I may be the only one whom the frogs have sorely injured; yet we all live but a poor life, and I am in sad plight, for I have lost three sons. The first was slain by a hateful weasel who caught him outside his hole. The next one cruel men brought to his death by a newfangled device of wood, which they call a trap; and now my darling Crumbfilcher has been choked in the waters. Come and let us arm ourselves for the war and go forth to do battle.'

"So they each put on his armor. For greaves around their legs they used the beans on which they fed at night, and their breastplates they made cunningly out of the skin of a dead weasel. For spears they carried skewers, and the shell of a nut for a helmet. So they stood in battle array, and the frogs, when they heard of it, rose from the water and summoned a council in a corner of the pond. As they wondered what might be the cause of these things, there came a messenger from the mice, who declared war against them, and said, 'Ye frogs, the mice bid you arm yourselves and come forth to the battle, for they have seen Crumbfilcher, whom your king Puffcheek drowned, floating dead on the water.' Then the valiant frogs feared exceedingly, and blamed the deed of Puffcheek; but the king said, 'Friends, I did not kill the mouse or see him die; of course he was drowned while he amused himself in the pond trying to swim like a frog, and the wretches now bring charge against me who am wholly guiltless. But come, let us take counsel how we may destroy these mice; and this, I think is the best plan. Let us arm ourselves and take our stand where the bank is steepest, and when they come charging against us, let us seize their helmets and drag them down into the pond. Thus we shall drown them all and set up a trophy for our victory.' So they each put on his armor. They covered their legs with mallow leaves, and carried radish leaves for shields, and rushes for spears, and snail-shells for helmets. Thus they stood in array on the high bank, brandishing their spears and shouting for the battle. But Zeus summoned the gods to the starry heaven, and, pointing to the host of the frogs and mice, mighty as the armies of the Kentaurs or the giants, he asked who would aid each side as it might be hard pressed in the strife, and he said to Athene, 'Daughter, thou wilt go surely to the aid of the mice, for they are always running about thy shrine, and delight in the fat and the morsels which they pick from the sacrifices.' But Athene said to the son of Kronos, 'Father, I go not to help the mice, for they have done me grievous mischief, spoiling the garlands and the lamps for the sake of the oil. Nay, I have greater cause for anger, for they have eaten out the robe which I wove from fine thread, and made holes in it; and the man who mended it charges a high price, and, worse still, I borrowed the stuff of which I wove it, and now I cannot pay it back. Yet neither will I aid the frogs, for they are not right in their senses. A little while ago, I came back tired from war and wanting sleep; but they never let me close my eyes with their clatter, and I lay sleepless with a headache till the cock crew in the morning. But O, ye gods, let us aid neither side, lest we be wounded with their swords or spears, for they are sharp and strong, even against gods; but let us take our sport by watching the strife in safety out of heaven.' Then the gods did as Athene bade them, and went all into one place; the gnats, with their trumpets, gave the signal for the battle, and Zeus thundered out of the sky because of the woes that were coming. Mighty were the deeds that were done on both sides, and the earth and the pond were reddened with the blood of the slain. So, as the fight went on, Crumbstealer slew Garliceater before he came to land; Mudwalker, seeing it, threw at him a clod of earth, and, hitting him in the forehead, almost blinded him. Then, in his fury, Crumbstealer seized a great stone, and crushed the leg of the frog, so that he fell on his back in the dust. Then Breadgnawer wounded Puffcheek in the foot, and made him limp into the water. But among the mice was a young hero, with whom none could be matched for boldness and strength, and his name was Bitstealer. On the bank of the pond he stood alone, and vowed a vow to destroy the whole race of the frogs. And the vow would have been accomplished, for his might was great indeed, had not the son of Kronos pitied the frogs in their misery, and charged Pallas, Athene and Ares to drive Bitstealer from the battle. But Ares made answer and said, 'O Zeus, neither Athene nor Ares alone can save the frogs from death. Let us all go and help them; and do thou, son of Kronos, wield thy mighty weapon with which thou didst slay the Titans, and Kapaneus, the Enkelados, and the wild race of the giants, for thus only can the bravest of them be slain.' So spake Ares; and Zeus hurled his scathing thunderbolts, and the lightnings flashed from the sky, and Olympus shook with the earthquake. The frogs and mice heard and trembled; but the mice ceased not from the battle, and strove only the more to slay their enemies, until Zeus, in his pity, sent a new army to aid the frogs. Suddenly they came on the mice, with mailed backs and crooked claws, and limping gait, with mouths like spears, and skins like potsherds. Their backs were hard and horny, their arms were long and lean, and their eyes were in their breasts. They had eight feet and two heads, and no hands. Men call them crabs. With their mouths they bit the tails and feet and hands of the mice, and broke their spears, and great terror came on all the mice, so that they turned and fled. Thus the battle was ended, and the sun went down."

The fact that weasels are mentioned but no cats as mice-killers, indicates that the Mice and Frog parody is of very considerable antiquity. Cats had not yet been domesticated; perhaps were still unknown among the Greeks.